


Violence and Defence

by WillowRose99



Series: Stranger Things Imagines [1]
Category: Stranger Things (TV 2016)
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Blood and Violence, F/M, Fights, Fluff and Angst, Hurt Jonathan Byers, Hurt Steve Harrington, Jonathan Byers-centric, Minor Violence, Protective Jonathan Byers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-26
Updated: 2020-04-26
Packaged: 2021-03-01 18:26:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,102
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23851537
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WillowRose99/pseuds/WillowRose99
Summary: Steve and Jonathan were bound to clash at some point, you just didn't expect it to get so violent, or for you to swing the first punch...
Relationships: Jonathan Byers/Reader, Jonathan Byers/Steve Harrington
Series: Stranger Things Imagines [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1718749
Kudos: 12





	Violence and Defence

Sometimes, the world and its people turned into a science experiment. And most of the time, that science experiment went wrong, devastatingly wrong. 

Right now, the town of Hawkins and its residents were under a microscope, with the rest of the world looking in and thinking all the horrible thoughts about a small country town that was suddenly in the middle of a missing child's case. All of a sudden there were film crews and journalists and police officers swarming all over the town and its streets, trying to access the minds of those who lived in that little town. 

But compared to how the outsiders of the case faired, was nothing compared to those who were family or friends. The world seemed to explode around them as if the earth was hit with an asteroid, shattering the little comfort bubble that kept them safe and warm, instead of letting in the chilling cold and the terrors of the night.

Jonathan wasn't coping well, and you knew that. You knew that he was the sort of person to snap under pressure and at the worst time for the people around him. But you also knew that it took lots of pressure to push him to the edge, and normally he was fine, drowning himself in music and trying to quiet the voices with happy memories and familiar photographs. 

Except, right now, none of those things was going to help the oldest Byers boy.

Steve Harrington and his friends were a piece of work. They were the kind of teenagers that thrived off the downfall of others and their popularity only made them stronger. With their sharp-tongued comments and off-handed insults, they were the enemy of everyone and the friends of some, but right now, they were the most hated people on the planet in your eyes. 

You didn't mean to end up in this situation, standing opposite Carol, Tommy and Steve. It truly was an accident, one made by seeing your name spray-painted on the cinema doors, followed by the words "slut" and "creep fucking whore". For some reason, the words bothered you, not only because they were disgustingly mean, but more so because you knew who had sprayed the dark red letters onto the dirty glass. 

You didn't think your older cousin would stoop to the level of aggressively insulting someone for every one of the townspeople to see, including his aunt and uncle, but you just so happened to be wrong.

Suddenly the teenager beside you was fuming, glaring at the words that covered the glass and gripping your hand tighter. You knew what was coming, that all his anger and despair and fear was about to tumble together into a cloud of electrified emotion that could wage a war against the strongest of armies. And you knew that Jonathan was thinking everything through in his head as he stood next to you, but you didn't stop him as he let go of your hand and walked towards the ally way where the three lords of Hawkins High School were hiding. 

They didn't even try to hide their amusement as they saw Jonathan and you appear in front of them. Instead, it just seemed to fuel their actions further, cajoling the two of you as they swapped banter between the three of them as if everything was hilarious. 

He was fuming, body shaking slightly as you came up to grab his arm, and pull him back from your older cousin. But then Steve started speaking, and you knew there was no chance of this not ending without something terrible happening. 

"Well well, if it isn't my little cousin, the whore. What a surprise." Tommy and Carol laughed as if what Steve had just said was the funniest thing in the world, even though they knew there was nothing funny about what was about to happen. 

"Why the hell did you do that Steve? What the fuck do you want from me?" You got right up in his face, so close that the older boy eyes widened slightly and he took a step back. You were so angry and so damn disappointed in the boy in front of you that all you wanted to do was walk away and never give him your time again, but you knew you couldn't do that, and that no one would let you. 

"I honestly think it's hilarious that you're asking me this when you already know what you did." He snarled back at you in such a fury that his eyes burned with rage. 

"And what did I do, Harrington? Cause' right now I'm lost, and you're looking pretty dumb attacking me for something when I've got no idea what is going on." 

"YOU SLEPT WITH HIM!" The whole group of you went silent as if what Steve had yelled was so dirty that all of you refused to acknowledge it. But then the silence came to a crashing end when you spoke back to him.

"How dare you. God, I can't fucking believe you, Steve Harrington. Since when do you care who I sleep with, or what I even do with my own life? When have you given an actual fuck about me?" Your voice was low and quiet, shaking with so much anger that Steve felt himself backing away again and retreating to stand closer to Carol and Tommy. But you wouldn't let him cower behind his goons this time, because you knew what you needed to do. "Tell me, why do you give a fuck?" 

"Because you're dating him. I have to care because you're dating a creep and someone who most likely killed his brother." 

His head wrenched back then, your hand colliding flat against his cheek and sending out a sharp snap of a noise. No one moved as Steve stumbled back, holding his cheek as the hot skin turned a dark pink colour. 

For a moment no one could believe what you had just done, least of all you. You'd just hit someone for the first time in your life, and as insane as it sounded, it felt good. Your hand burned from where you hit Steve like the memory was physically imprinting itself into your skin for you to always remember, but suddenly the world was moving around you like a storm rising out of nothing. 

Carol was coming towards you, hands out to push you to the ground before you quickly sidestepped the erratic teen. Tommy was jumping around and shouting insults into the air like someone was listening to him from up above, and Steve...Well, Steve was staring back at you with a look of absolute hurt in his eyes, and for just a quick split second, you wanted to hug him and tell him everything was alright, even though you knew he didn't deserve.

"I guess you made your decision then, you'd rather date the psycho than be on good terms with your cousin. I get it." Steve let the words escape his mouth as you turned away from him and moved closer to Jonathan. And even though Jonathan was shaking and pushing against your hand that tried to lead him away from the oncoming fight, Steve kept talking. 

"Well, don't come running to me when the teen killer ends up killing you and his mum goes insane...Oh, wait, too late." Steve was letting out another laugh, but suddenly Jonathan was ripping himself out of your hold and barreling towards the boy, his fist striking Steve on the edge of his nose. 

Steve fell collapsed to the ground and then Jonathan was on top of him, hitting him over and over in the face until your cousin was covered in dark red blood and was trying to push Jonathan off him. Tommy tried to grab Jonathan by the arm and yank him off his friend, but instead, Jonathan twisted away from his grasp and kept punching Steve.

You didn't know how everything happened, all you knew was that you were suddenly by Jonathan's side and trying to pull him off your older cousin, watching as your hands stained with blood and you desperately screamed at the two boys to stopped fighting. 

You got in between them then, hands against their heaving chests and pushing them away from each other in a way that stopped all the bloodshed. Both boys were covered in blood, and their cheeks were swollen, knuckles cut and skin bruising quickly. 

"Stop it, both of you." You didn't even glance at Steve as he tried to call out for you, turning your back on your cousin and walking towards your boyfriend. You grabbed his unhurt hand and pulled him away. He tried to resist, but he stopped when you squeezed it gently. 

The two of you left that ally, leaving the three other teens behind as you quickly walked towards Jonathan's car. Sliding into the passenger seat and resting against the seat as he started the car and let the engine roll for a moment before pulling out of the parking spot and onto the road. 

Speeding down the empty road and rushing past trees that were losing their leaves, the both of you were silent, the only noise being the cassette tape playing from the radio, soft guitar strums and gentle drum beats filling the moving vehicle. 

You didn't know where Jonathan was driving to, and you didn't ask because, in all honesty, you couldn't care less. You just wanted to get away from everything and everyone, apart from him. After another ten minutes of driving, Jonathan pulled the car into a barely used driveway, winding through the tall trees and dodging the uneven surface of the dirt road.

Stopping the car gently, he let out a sigh and turned the car off with a small twist of his wrist against the keys, signalling for you to get out. Following him, you sat beside him as he leaned against the hood of his car and looked up at the night sky. Stars glittered above you, millions of miles high and as bright as anything you had ever seen. 

Leaning against you, you pressed your face into the skin of his neck and let out a heavy sigh. He wrapped his arm around you, tugging you closer and pressing his lips against your hair. 

"I'm sorry I hit Steve, I know you didn't want me to do that." His words came out quiet and muffled, but you didn't mind. Letting another sigh escape, you shifter against him slightly.

"It's fine, I was too angry to care what you did. Plus, I did hit him first." Jonathan let out a loud laugh at this, body shaking against yours and the sound lighting up the world around the both of you

"That is true, but I gotta admit, he did deserve it." He smiled down at you for a moment, his features clouded by the darkness of the night. 

The two of you sat in silence once again, clinging to each other under the night sky and watching as the trees moved around you and the stars shone above. 

And then you were leaning up to press your lips against his for a short moment, hand coming up to cup his jaw and run another through his already messy hair. You pulled away after, leaning back into him as he peppered kisses over your forehead and hair, moving a hand up and down your back and skimming his thumb against the bare skin of your hip.

"I never said thank you." He glanced down at you in confusion, brow crinkling and eyes staring right back into yours. He shook his head slightly and spoke back.

"You don't need to thank me, I'll always be there to help you. Steve and his mates are dicks." 

"Even if you get hurt in the process?"

"Especially if I get hurt in the process because I would rather be the one bleeding then let you be touched by anyone of them." He kissed you then and lifted you slightly so you were even closer and so he could wrap his arms around your waist.

For a moment the two of you forgot about the fury filled words that had been exchanged earlier that day and the blood that had dripped from both the boys and the two of you just sat there, embraced in warmth and basking in the touch of lips against skin and fingers in hair. 

Nothing mattered at all then, because the two of you were safe, and that's all you needed.


End file.
